2.B.140.  The Photo-Responsive Zn2+ Ionophore (PRZnI) Family

Transmission of chemical information between cells and across lipid bilayer membranes plays roles in many biological processes. The design of synthetic signalling systems is a critical step towards preparing artificial cells with collective behaviour. Gartland et al. 2023 reported an example of a synthetic inter-vesicle signalling system, in which diffusible chemical signals trigger transmembrane ion transport in a manner reminiscent of signalling pathways in biology. The system is derived from novel ortho-nitrobenzyl and BODIPY photo-caged Zn^II transporters, in which cation transport is triggered by photo-decaging with UV or red light, respectively. This decaging reaction can be used to trigger the release of the cationophores from a small population of sender vesicles. This in turn triggers the transport of ions across the membrane of a larger population of receiver vesicles, but not across the sender vesicle membrane, leading to overall inter-vesicle signal transduction and amplification (Gartland et al. 2023).